Rohit Kalsapre used to teach physically handicapped children in Nagpur. One day he discovered that the children had never seen a movie at a theatre and decided to help them see one. Though it involved, apart from the financial aspect, carrying 10 children up, that too one by one, he found every minute to be worth it.
It is such inspiring stories woven around volunteers that are now being used to rope in volunteers for making the lives of thousands of children in care homes more meaningful and enjoyable.
As Ritika Taneja of Make A Difference (MAD), which is in the process of recruiting youngsters and educated people for reaching out to the underprivileged children in the care homes, insists that it is time that people found some time out of their busy schedules to really make a difference in the lives of these children.
The group has so far used the services of 1,200 volunteers for improving the lives of 3,500 children in 25 cities. And it now only wants to expand its reach. In Delhi, the group is reaching out to about 600 children in six shelter homes through a volunteer base of 150. It has called for more registrations at www.makeadiff.in
“There is still so much work to be done,’’ said Ms. Taneja adding that the programme used the skills and knowledge of the volunteers to widen the horizon of the children in the care homes. Moreover, narrating a case of volunteer Archana Rao, she mentioned how often the ‘teachers’ are able to bring about a sea change in the outlook, confidence and future of the children they set out to serve.
The group has been working with orphans and children at risk, providing them high-quality programs with a special focus on education. It imparts English communication skills using the five level curriculum provided by Cambridge University Press and also has a placement project under which monthly field visits and events are organised and a library project to “light up a few faces with the help of the sheer joy of books.’’
